Over the last decade, there has been a deadlock in congress on raising the child support payment cap. Today, however, the House Judiciary Committee voted on a 4% increase in child support payments – which would be the first such increase in nearly a decade. Since that vote, cost of living has increased 19%.

Federal law mandates that each state reevaluate child support guidelines every four years. Because child support payment and management is so tricky and invasive, its up to legislators to truly understand the impacts – both positive and negative – of any future increase in child support payments.

But many lawmakers on capital hill feel that children are falling behind, and raising child support might be way to help.

What does that mean for those of you paying and collecting child support? It depends. While the bill has yet to pass congress and cross the president’s desk, there appears to be a mandate to increase child support payments now that the economy has gotten back on firmer footing.

Any change in a family’s or individual’s finances bring about a need to balance spending. With a 4% increase looming, we know that there is a better way to begin planning for how you will allocate your income.

SupportPay’s financial planning tool is the perfect way to keep track of child support expenses and payments. By logging into the tool you can take a look at exactly what, and where, you’ve been spending your dollars. By tracking expenses, you can then allocate your budget accordingly to make up for any increase in child support payments.

But that isn’t all. SupportPay now has a partial payments feature – which means that should payment amounts suddenly increase with the change in laws, you can now schedule partial payments ahead of time and let your ex know exactly when they will be receiving child support.

Try SupportPay now for free – and be prepared. Whether child support payment rates increase or not.